Amy Ferris, CFO of the Washington State Department of Health, has thoughts to share on the evolution of the role of a finance leader.
We listened.
CFO Brew recently sat down with Ferris at the Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference, where she explained why CFOs must use their voice as leaders and also view issues through a lens that goes beyond the finance function.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You mentioned during your panel session [which focused on the future role of the CFO] that it wasn’t until recently that you were given a seat on the executive leadership table. Can you give more context on that?
Part of it is how we're how we're structured. So, I actually report to the chief of staff, not to the secretary of health, who's the director of our agency. It was more that all of those that were direct reports were at the executive leadership table. We got a new secretary [Umair Shah, who was appointed in December 2020], and as he came in and started meeting with us, and I would go and do presentations…it was at that point where he's like, “I need Amy at the table. We need to have her here regularly, she needs to hear our conversations.”
What do you think that says about the shift we’ve seen to the CFO being a more strategic partner?
You have to be connected with the CEO, the director, whatever the title—the head of the agency or organization. You have to be at the table, you have to have that relationship with them, because you're following…their vision. Where are we going as an organization now? How do I, the chief finance strategist, help us get there with what I know and what I have access to, and what can I help connect people to?
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Can you also expand on your comments that the CFO should look at issues from a perspective that goes beyond finance?
We’re a leader of an organization. We’re not there to speak to just our piece. We’re invited in—and you’re going to have to be invited in—as being appointed as a leader in the organization, they [the CEO or agency head] are saying, “I want you here in this organization.” You have so much more to bring than just your perspective for the business that you serve, and it’s not overstepping.
An example I’ll give is, when we’re talking about what our priorities are, and what’s happening—we may say workforce, we may be talking about our healthcare branch that we’re building out—I can speak to what I’ve heard from partners, what I’ve seen from the programs and the services that have come up internally, and I can talk about finance. They can talk about finance, too. So, I just don’t want CFOs to always feel like you have to stay in the box of only talking about the area that you are working. You’re a leader in the organization, you’re a talented human being. Use your voice, share, give input.